Review. The Kingdom of Gods – N.K. Jemisin

For two thousand years the Arameri family has ruled the world by enslaving the very gods that created mortalkind. Now the gods are free, and the Arameri’s ruthless grip is slipping. Yet they are all that stands between peace and world-spanning, unending war. 

Shahar, last scion of the family, must choose her loyalties. She yearns to trust Sieh, the godling she loves. Yet her duty as Arameri heir is to uphold the family’s interests, even if that means using and destroying everyone she cares for.

As long-suppressed rage and terrible new magics consume the world, the Maelstrom — which even gods fear — is summoned forth. Shahar and Sieh: mortal and god, lovers and enemies. Can they stand together against the chaos that threatens?

My thoughts:

I really should write a review the minute I finish the book, even if I am just a day late I feel all meh. Anyway…

This is the last book in this trilogy and it’s about Sieh, the kid, the trickster, the lonely one. He is, yes how to describe him? Like I said, a trickster. He can play one minute, rip people to pieces the next if they anger him. Godlings do what they want.

Then he meats Sharar and Deka. Siblings, one heir to the world. I can’t say more here cos the consequences echoes through out the whole book, they are the whole book. They are two proud kids cos they are after all Arameri. But they can also be loving, jealous and I will say no more.

There is also a shadow player in this book. A story I liked as everything looked so dark.

The book was better than the last, but then the last disappointed me to no end. But it still was not as good as the first, but then the first blew me away with it’s language. This one instead is a joy to read because of a good story, complex characters and a world that is old and well done, and a world that needs to change.

Conclusion:

So I would say, good ending to this series. And yes the end, I really liked the end.

Cover
meh

Series: The Inheritance cycle #3
Genre. Fantasy
Pages: 613
Published: 2011 by Orbit
Source. Own

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I did well in the TBR challenge and I am happy 😀

Rivers of London by Ben Aronovich

The Emperor’s soul by Brandon Sanderson

The kingdom by Amanda Stevens

The prophet by Amanda Stevens

Fair Game by Patricia Briggs

Dark Haven by Gail Z Martin

Black Howl by Christina Henry

Left hand magic by Nancy A Collins

Road trip of the living dead by Mark Henry

The Magician’s guild by Trudi Canavan

Kitty and the Midnight hour by Carrie Vaughn

Grave Memory by Kalayna Price

The kingdom of Gods by NK Jemisin

Osiris by Ej Swift

(2013 books but still counting)

A red sun also rises by Mark Hodder 

A conspiracy of alchemists by Liesl Schwarz

Etiquette and espionage by Gail Carriger

Review: The Queen’s Bastard – C.E Murphy

The Queen’s Bastard by CE Murphy

The Inheritor’s cycle, book 1

Genre: Fantasy historical something
Pages: 448
Published: 2008

In a world where religion has ripped apart the old order, Belinda Primrose is the queen’s secret weapon. The unacknowledged daughter of Lorraine, the first queen to sit on the Aulunian throne, Belinda has been trained as a spy since the age of twelve by her father, Lorraine’s lover and spymaster.

Cunning and alluring, fluent in languages and able to take on any persona, Belinda can infiltrate the glittering courts of Echon where her mother’s enemies conspire. She can seduce at will and kill if she must. But Belinda’s spying takes a new twist when her witchlight appears.

Now Belinda’s powers are unlike anything Lorraine could have imagined. They can turn an obedient daughter into a rival who understands that anything can be hers, including the wickedly sensual Javier, whose throne Lorraine both covets and fears. But Javier is also witchbreed, a man whose ability rivals Belinda’s own . . . and can be just as dangerous.

Amid court intrigue and magic, loyalty and love can lead to more daring passions, as Belinda discovers that power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

So I am not entirely sure if this is a fantasy world, or an alternate universe, or alternate timeline. It has the essence of 16th century Europe and there is where she lost me the first time. You see there is with one particular person too much that is the same. Queen Lorraine, who has the same appearance, family history and more as a certain Virgin Queen. It is so obvious that it is her that it is not funny anymore. The rest she hides better and I liked that. But I wish she at least could have changed the name of her dad or the color of her hair. She could have done with this world if the had created more of her own. She could still have had a Virgin Queen, but you know, another name, another and etc.

Then there is the thing that made me appalled by this book. I was horrified and I have never hated a heroine more. First of, Belinda Primrose, the bastard daughter of the queen is trained to be an assassin. She is weird as a little kid and does things they would not do. Then her father, a father I could not understand, sends her out to kill at 12, and she does it. Ok, I can take a little sociopath. Then we move forward and she sleeps her way to her pray. She is no better than a prostitute, and then there is the first scene that has me wondering. Things move on and she does seem to think with her libido, she is supposed to be a great assassin but still she could almost mess things up with suddenly having to have sex. That is not the mark of a great assassin.

By now I am not that fond of her, she clearly has issues, but then there is the scene that made me think this was the most horrible heroine I have ever read. There is a rape scene, she does it, and then she helps to do it to the victim. After that I am mostly sick to my stomach of Belinda, and I am speeding trough the book to just get it over with. Thinking only of the fact that I sadly have book 2 also. And I don’t want to read more about her.

There is no other characters to like, they all have issues too, and even the nice one does something bad. Sure it is all a play of politics and more but people does have some decency in them.

This was clearly not the book for me. Some scenes I can just not stomach, and I can not read a book about someone I despise.

Cover thoughts: Yes I do like this cover, feels strange to say that not after this review.

Why I read it: My own book

 1, because I could not think with a clear mind